Escape rooms are the next level of interactive entertainment, and the Southern California area is blessed to have hundreds of rooms, with more popping up this year. Nerd Reactor was able to check out the latest escape rooms from Horror Escapes LA, and they have come up with new ways to creep out groups under the Ringmaster’s Sideshow theme in North Hollywood. So bring out your friends, family or colleagues, and let’s go on a creepy ride just in time for the Halloween season.

The location is located inside a building in the middle of a warehouse district. It’s the perfect creepy atmosphere, but upon entering the building, I noticed comic books inside white bins in the lobby. It’s definitely something that piqued my interest as a comic book fan, but it didn’t help sell the mood for what we’re about to experience. A couple was running the show, and they were super nice and helpful. Okay, let’s talk about the two newly opened escape rooms: Ringmaster’s Quarters and Trapped.

Synopsis: Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, People used to come far and wide to see the Ringmaster’s Sideshow. The novelty of the acts eventually wore off and ticket sales plummeted. To increase his ticket sales, the Ringmaster started dismembering and torturing his sideshow talent and kidnapping select ticket holders to force them into becoming the talent.

You’ll be uncovering clues inside with up to 5 other players. Ringmaster’s Quarters has you finding out what the Ringmaster’s plans are while trying to escape in 50 minutes. In Trapped, the Ringmaster traps you and tries to turn you into his next sideshow performer, and of course, you’ll have to escape with other performers in 50 minutes.

One room had us in handcuffs, and we had to get out and proceed. For the most part, the rooms have the right amount of disturbing atmosphere and the clues were really inventive, even involving using your nose. (That was a tough one for me.) It was nice to have the story flow from one room to the next, and the puzzles didn’t feel out of place.

In the end, we were able to escape both rooms, and the puzzles were pretty challenging but not enough for us to be really stumped. In addition, there are actors in the rooms, and they’ll try to creep you out as you’re figuring out the puzzles. If this is your first time doing escape rooms, you’re in for a treat, and if you’re a horror fan, it’s another great way to experience the Halloween season.